Man convicted of obstruction of justice in friend's murder conspiracy

SAN DIEGO – A Bonita man accused of helping a friend rig the result of a paternity test, then lying to police during a related murder investigation, was found guilty Friday of conspiracy to obstruct justice.

The felony charge against Maxwell Corn, 25, resulted from the 2006 strangling deaths of a woman and her infant son in Southcrest. Corn's longtime friend, Dennis Potts, was convicted last month of those murders.

After hearing testimony earlier in the week, San Diego Superior Court Judge Bernard Revak found Corn guilty of conspiracy, and scheduled a sentencing hearing for Dec. 11.

Corn had previously waived his right to a trial by jury.

Before announcing his decision, Revak recounted some of the evidence he considered and noted that the close-knit friendship Corn shared with Potts may have been his downfall.

“Those two were not just casual acquaintances,” Revak said. “They were very good friends. In fact, they were the best of friends.”

Revak said Corn knew there was dispute between Potts and the baby's mother over paternity and he participated in an attempt to deceive her. Revak likened the act to a student who asks a friend with better grades to take a math test for him.

“It's cheating,” the judge said. “Rest assured that's not a crime. Is it morally reprehensible? Well, you're a cheat. You're a liar.

“(Corn) cheated and I think he knew substantially more than just meets the eye.”

Defense attorney Allen Bloom had argued in court that Corn wanted to help his friend but did not participate in a conspiracy.

On July 26, 2006, the bodies of 22-year-old Tori Vienneau and her 10-month-old son Dean Springstube were found in a South 45th Street apartment where they had been staying. She had been strangled with the cord of a hair-straightening iron.

The infant was found hanging in a playpen with the cord of a cell-phone charger wrapped around his neck.

Prosecutor Per Hellstrom said in trial that Vienneau became pregnant when she cheated on her then-boyfriend with Potts. The boyfriend left the state when he learned through DNA testing that he was not the baby's father.

Vienneau then asked Potts to take a paternity test. He agreed, but mailed another man's biological material – a cheek swab from Corn – to a lab that determined Potts was not the baby's father.

Vienneau was suspicious of the result and wanted to take Potts to court, the prosecutor said. She made plans with Potts to go to dinner and talk the night she was killed.

A jury found Potts guilty of two counts of first-degree murder and conspiracy to obstruct justice. He is scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 6.

“Dennis Potts committed the murders of Tori and baby Dean,” Revak said Friday in court. “That conclusion to me is beyond any question, far beyond any question.”

The judge noted that Corn lied to police when he said Potts was at the Corn residence from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. the night of the slaying. Corn also lied repeatedly about whether he helped “fake” the paternity test.

That's when his behavior turned criminal.

“Had Mr. Corn just told the police the truth about that DNA, he wouldn't be here,” the judge said.